We take care of our own
by CPD5021George
Summary: A few months after the end of season 6: Adam Ruzek is released from prison. But here the problems just start. And when you least expect it, help comes from an unexpected side. A bit of Upstead
1. Chapter 1

It was because of her special connection with Adam Ruzek that Trudy Platt stood here in front of Stateville Prison early in the morning of a foggy day in October. Adam was to be released from Stateville today, and he had asked her of all people to pick him up.

He didn't want to see Kim, or Kevin, or the rest of the Intelligence Unit here. Just like he hadn't wanted them to go downstairs with him on that fateful day he was arrested at the Precinct.

Antonio had finally come forward, had confessed what had really happened. He had told IA all they needed to know, about his painkiller addiction, the rage that made him throw Eva's abductor out of the window. And that Adam had covered for him. He had worked out a deal with the prosecutor, so that Adam would be set free, while he was to go to prison – and to get help. That was, for him, the right thing to do, and he had waited much too long already.

Adam Ruzek, Trudy thought, sweet, chaotic hothead Adam Ruzek. Loyal to the bone to his unit, often acting without thinking first, not that great in relationships, but never deliberately hurting those he cared for. Adam, whom she – in another life – had taken out on a date to fool her dad. Adam, who was the only one in the district, save for perhaps Hank Voight, who was brave enough to knock on her door asking for advice in the middle of the night.

So when the prison gate opened, it was Trudy, who Adam saw, and only Trudy. Leaning against her car, the usual slightly annoyed look on her face, the look that said "don't get on the wrong side of me", but that didn't fool her friends. Adam knew Trudy would be there for him, for everyone in Intelligence and in the 21st, always watching out, always a backup.

He looked even more dishevelled than usual, hair a mess, beard unkempt, shirt out of his denims. And he had an unusually sad look in his eyes. But that look changed immediately when he saw Trudy. His eyes lightened up, a big smile appeared on his face.

"Trudy", he exclaimed, pulling the reluctant sergeant in a big hug, which she reciprocated soon enough. He was almost losing it, but before he started crying for real, he backed off, brushed imaginary dirt off his shirt and stood straight, facing her.

"Thank you, sergeant."

Trudy nodded, put a hand on his shoulder. "Let's go. I'll take you home."

When both sat in the car and Trudy drove off, Adam exhaled loudly and slumped into his seat, finally relaxing. "Sarge, you don't know what it means to me that you came. You can't imagine what it was like inside. I mean, I was inside once – undercover, but that was nothing compared to these … four... months. I never thought I could feel so dirty. And the guys inside... some seem like normal people, and then you find out they killed little kids. I used to think I knew it all, I was tough, that couldn't surprise me, but..."

Trudy just let him ramble on without interrupting him. Yes, Adam was tough, Adam had seen a lot. But nothing prepared a cop for a time in prison as an actual inmate.

He kept talking until they reached his house.

Trudy stopped the car.

"You will find a few groceries inside, thanks to your dad. I hope that's ok. And the team is ready to see you tonight at Molly's. That is, if you're up to it."

Adam nodded, realizing that he'd be alone for the first time in four months now. Kind of scary, but also such a relief. "Yes, tonight. Molly's at 8. But Sarge, I need to talk to Voight before that. Do you think I can call him? I think I might have stumbled into something inside. Something that could be big. We need to investigate."

Trudy looked at him, doubtful. Yes, Adam was reinstated and would return to his job, but it was by far not clear if he would be back in Intelligence. Still she nodded. Now was not the time to talk about that. "Intelligence is working on a case right now, and Hank might be in the field. But for heaven's sake call him. If you heard something. Intelligence will follow up."

"I will do that, Sarge. It's too much to tell you now, but it may involve organized crime, trafficking, the whole mess."

"Call Hank," Trudy said. She looked at him, stroked his hair quickly. "I'm so glad you're ok," she said. "Now go. See you at Molly's at 8."


	2. Chapter 2

Molly's later that day.

Almost the whole unit was there. Jay Halstead, Hailey Upton, Kevin Atwater, Kim Burgess, and also their newest old addition Kenny Rixton. Furthermore Will Halstead was there, Severide was talking to Stella behind the bar, Trudy and Mouch, Cruz, Otis, Herman. Everyone wanted to welcome Adam back.

Voight wasn't there yet, but he would drop by later, he had promised.

But the one person that didn't show up was Adam Ruzek.

"Where the hell is Adam?" Kim finally asked not anyone specifically. "He should be here by now."

"You know he's not always on time," replied Jay, pretending to be calm, but still exchanging a quick worried look with Hailey.

Kevin stood up and went over to check with Trudy and Mouch. "Sarge, do you know why Adam's late? Did he say anything earlier, when you picked him up?"

Trudy shrugged. "He agreed to be here at 8, that's all I know. And he was looking forward to meeting you all. But perhaps something came up. He told me he wanted to call Hank because he thought he might have stumbled into something back in Stateville."

"Then call Hank," Mouch suggested. "He should know."

"I'll do that," Kevin nodded, returning to his friends.

When he approached them, however, he saw Jay on his phone, a slightly puzzled look on his face.

"What?" Kevin asked.

Jay lifted his hand, shaking his head, signalling all to wait a moment. The look on his face became more worried, he stood up straight as if waiting for an order.

"Yes, sarge, I'll let the others know. We are on our way." He finished the call, looked around, looked into everyone's eyes for a split second. "Get sergeant Platt, she needs to hear this too."

Trudy was over within seconds.

"What's going on, Halstead?" Kim – impatient and worried.

"We need to leave." Jay explained. "I hope neither of you had too many drinks. That was Voight on the phone. Adam's gone. He is nowhere to be found."

"What?" Kim and Hailey in unison.

"I don't know much. Voight said Adam had tried to reach him this afternoon, and they talked later on. Adam was agitated, said he had probably overheard something while in Stateville. They wanted to meet, but Adam didn't show up. So Voight drove to Adam's place, but he wasn't there either. He checked with Adam's dad, but Adam hadn't talked to him either."

Now they were all talking at the same time. What? Why? What was it that Adam heard? Was that why he vanished?

"Voight said, Adam told him something about illegal immigration from Russia, involving pregnant women, Russian criminals, babies, perhaps a network." Jay explained quickly. "He doesn't know much more. We should join him in Adam's place."

"Copy that", several voices. All were back to business within seconds. Jay and Hailey drove together, Kim and Kevin, and Kenny took Trudy, who couldn't be stopped from going with the unit.

On the short way to Adam's place Jay inquiringly glanced over to Hailey, whose face was tense and pale. He softly touched her arm. "Hailey? You ok?" Soft voice.

At first she didn't answer, but when the touch of his hand became firmer, she flinched, turned towards Jay. Slowly she shook her head. "No, I'm not ok, Jay. I... I...," she paused.

Jay's hand rested on her arm, reassuringly.

"Jay, I was looking forward to seeing Adam. He didn't want me to visit him in Stateville, and I respected that. And now that he's back, now that everything was supposed to be normal again... now he's vanished." She looked down. "Jay, you know that Adam and I are over, right? But I still care."

"Hailey, you don't have to apologize for caring," Jay's voice was warm and full of sympathy. "We'll find him."

She nodded, looking up again into his eyes.

Yes, Hailey and Adam had been over for several months, but she cared for him, second only to Kim. Her relationship with Jay had changed slowly in that time. Nothing had happened, nothing that anyone could put a finger on, but still. They had become closer. There was an unspoken bond between the two of them. They trusted each other. As for Hailey, she trusted him more than anyone. And Jay – he felt closer to Hailey than to anyone, except perhaps his brother – perhaps.

He understood what Hailey was trying to say. - I worry, I care for Adam, but that doesn't change things between us.

When they arrived at Adam's place, a few police cars were already there, several cops searched the premises.

Voight expected his unit, he almost ran towards them.

"He's gone," he greeted them, worries showing clearly in his face. "Come on in."

He filled them in on the details, as far as he knew them.

When Trudy had brought Adam home, he had entered his apartment, one could see his bag still lying on the bedroom floor, his stuff on the bed. The groceries Adam's dad had brought were left untouched in the fridge, only an empty bottle of beer stood on the kitchen counter. Uniforms were going through all rooms, but they found nothing and Voight asked them to leave.

The unit gathered in Adam's kitchen. Voight looked from one to the other. All faces showed worry and shock. Kim looked as if she would cry any second, Kevin had a comforting arm around her shoulders. Jay and Hailey stood next to each other, closely, stone faced, but ready to run in whatever direction Voight might indicate. Kenny's eyes were constantly checking the room for clues. And Trudy was pacing around nervously.

"We can't say exactly when Adam left," Voight explained. "We know Trudy, Sergeant Platt, dropped him off at approximately 9:45, Adam called me at 10:15, when I couldn't pick up the phone. I called him back at 1:30. And that's all we know. He must have vanished between 2:00 and 7:00 pm."

And what about Disco Bob?" Jay asked. "Sorry," he quickly added after a stare from Trudy. "I mean Adam's father. Did Adam call him? Does he know anything?"

Voight shook his head. "No."

As if on clue Bob Ruzek entered. "Hank, what's going on?"

Voight greeted him with a handshake, his free hand on Bob Ruzek's shoulder. "Bob, your son is missing. He was supposed to meet with us tonight at Molly's, but he didn't show up. He wanted to meet with me, but didn't show up either. Nobody has heard from him since 2:00 pm. Did you two talk?"

"No," Bob shook his head. "I was on night shift, and we had planned to talk later in the afternoon. Adam didn't call, but I didn't make much of it. You know Adam. But I got worried, and then you called."

"We don't know a lot, Bob," Voight calmly explained. "No forced entry, no signs of a fight, no clues. From what it looks like, Adam just left."

"No, Sarge," Kim interrupted. "Adam didn't just leave, he wouldn't do that. He... he..." she turned around and ran into the hallway, returning seconds later, triumphantly holding up keys and a cellphone. "He didn't just leave. He wouldn't leave his keys, let alone his phone!"

All nodded.

Voight turned to Bob. "You go home. Intelligence will have this. We will find Adam, I promise. He's family, and you know there is nothing we wouldn't do for him."

Bob exhaled – thinking why they had let him go to prison in the first place. But he didn't say it out loud. This was not the time. He nodded. "Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help."

"We will. Now go and keep your phone on, in case Adam calls."

When Bob Ruzek had left, Voight again gathered his unit, telling them what he had learned from Adam earlier. This could have something to do with why he was gone. In Stateville Adam was in the same cell block as a Russian national, who was convicted for trafficking, bringing people to the US illegally. This Igor Nachalnik belonged to the Russian mob, and the operation was not limited to Chicago or Illinois, but spread across the whole East coast.

Adam had overheard Igor talk to others about a big scam, bringing pregnant women to the US, to Chicago and other big cities in the East, to later blackmail them into prostitution and drug smuggling and dealing.

"How would you blackmail them? What exactly?" Kenny asked what all wanted to know.

"That is what we need to find out," Voight said. "Listen, I want you all to go home now, we will gather tomorrow at 7."

"But sarge," Hailey protested. "You can't expect us to go home now!"

"Yes, I know the first 48 hours after an abduction are crucial," Voight agreed. "But I need you all fresh and awake, and it is almost midnight already. We've all had a long day. Besides, I need to arrange a few things that might help, and I will get a few balls rolling overnight. The time will not be wasted. Right now, I need to make a phone call. Jay, I'll have to talk to you afterwards, please wait."

With that he left the room to make his phone call in private. He left the unit bewildered.

"This doesn't feel right," Kevin mumbled, but still got up to leave. He pulled Kim with him.

All left besides Hailey and Jay, who had arrived together in one car. Hailey had refused Kenny's offer to take her home. If Voight had to talk to Jay, her help and support might be needed.

When Voight called Jay outside for a talk, she waited, not knowing what to make of it.

Jay came back after a few minutes, slightly paler than before.

"You sure you're ok with that?" Voight asked. "I need to know, Jay. Because it won't work if you struggle with it. I need you one hundred percent."

"Yes, Hank."

Hailey gave him a curious look. "What? What is it you must be ok with?"

"I will explain tomorrow," Jay answered, squeezing Hailey's shoulder reassuringly. "No need to worry. I'm fine."

Hailey laughed. "Whenever you say you're fine, I know I need to worry."

Smiling, Jay shook his head.

On the way to Hailey's place, they hardly talked, but the silence was amicable. Jay dropped Hailey off, hugged her good-bye. "I will need you tomorrow," he said before he drove off, leaving behind a slightly irritated and worried Hailey.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning the whole unit showed up at 7:00 am, just to find the door to Voight's office closed with the blinds down. A murmur could be heard.

Kevin, Kenny and Kim looked at each other, puzzled. Jay looked intensely at his blank computer screen. Hailey, who sensed that something was off – something other than Adam gone missing, as if that wasn't enough – stood behind him, both hands on Jay's shoulders.

Then finally Voight opened the door and came out of his office, Trudy behind him and...

Erin.

Loud exclamations of surprise and joy from everyone in the unit, only Hailey could feel that Jay was sinking slightly deeper into his chair, tense. Herr feelings were not about Erin, but about her partner now. Her hands still rested on his shoulders, reassuringly.

But she shook off all worries, squeezed Jay's shoulders briefly and watched.

The others had already recovered from the shock. Kevin had pulled Erin into a big bear hug, Kim had joined him, and Kenny, who didn't have such a close connection to Erin, briefly hugged her.

Slowly Jay stood up, not smiling, not showing any emotions. Erin approached him. Hailey stepped aside, next to her partner, who nodded briefly.

"Erin," was all he said.

"Jay," typical Erin voice. "Jay, I... I... it's good to see you."

"Yeah, you too."

To loosen up the tension Hailey stepped forward, offering a friendly, yet short hug to Erin.

By now the others had started asking questions: Why had she left? Where had she gone? Why hadn't she contacted any of them?

And of course the unspoken question: Why hadn't she at least said good-bye to Jay properly?

"You can ask all your questions later," Voight interrupted. "Right now we have a case to solve, and that's why Lindsay is here."

OK, all agreed, went back to their respective desks.

Jay sat down again, and automatically Hailey pulled her chair over, next to his, as if to protect him. Jay nodded gratefully.

"The reason Lindsay is here is that this case is huge, and the Feds are already on it. But because one of our own is missing, we will not back down and let the Feds do the job. WE have to bring Ruzek back, and will do our part to solve this case and bring these people behind bars."

Nods from everyone.

"Now, here's what we know," Voight continued. "Erin!"

"Yes, Hank," She stepped up to the whiteboard. "We are already on it, have been for a while. Perhaps you have heard before that there is a big industry down in Florida, organizing to bring wealthy and heavily pregnant women from Russia, the Ukraine, Belarus to the US to expensive hospitals. When they give birth there, the babies automatically become US citizens. Thus the mothers can also live here. All perfectly legal, if you like it or not. But now a group of Eastern European criminals, the Russian mob, started a similar 'business' for less fortunate women. Those who cannot pay these ridiculous amounts of money for their services. They are brought to the US at the end of their pregnancy, deliver the babies here, and then pay, theoretically. And if they cannot pay – most of them can't -, the children are held hostage. The women are forced to work for them, you can imagine in what kinds of profession. Prostitution, drug dealing, drug smuggling. Here in Chicago, but also in New York City, Boston, DC."

They all looked at each other.

"How's Adam involved?" Kim wanted to know.

Voight stepped forward, pinned a photo of a middle aged man on the whiteboard.

"Igor Nachalnik," her explained. "The guy who's in Stateville. Adam was in one cell block with him, and overheard something. This is what he told me on the phone yesterday. The Russians want to extend their network even further into Chicago, checking out private hospitals they can use."

Erin pinned another photo on the board. "Ivan Grodny, called Ivan the Terrible," she said. "He's the local leader of the Russian mob, so far untouchable, as there is no actual evidence against him, no reliable witnesses."

"I still don't see what Ruzek had to do with it." Kevin said. "And if he was abducted, why are there no signs of forced entry, no signs of a struggle."

Erin nodded. "We believe that local criminals do some of the dirty work for the Russians." She pinned two more photos on the whiteboard. Two men not looking Slavic like Nachalnik and Grodny, but very much Irish-American, both with unruly red hair, freckles, one with a beard. "Sean and Patrick Murphy."

"Hey, I've seen these guys," Jay interrupted. "They are from Canaryville."

"Exactly. Adam must know them too. Sean is in Stateville, too, and I'm sure Adam met him there."

"And Patrick is free? That could be the connection," Kenny deducted.

"We believe so," Voight agreed. "Probably Sean made the connection, when he saw Adam in Stateville. Maybe Patrick went to see Adam, Adam let him in and they left together."

"You think that Adam's involved?" Kim.

"No, I don't think he's involved, " Voight hurried to answer. "But perhaps Sean asked Adam to give Patrick a message, as a trap."

"I still don't see the connection," Kim again.

"The connection might be that Adam overheard the Russians making plans, and Sean noticed that and got suspicious. He knew Adam's a cop. And Sean and Patrick have the connections to the Russians, work for them. So he correctly assumed Adam would try to inform the police about this, especially since he was being released. This was a high risk."

"But Ruzek wouldn't fall for such a trap," Kevin protested.

"That is what we have to find out. Boots on the ground. Reach out to your CI's, do some digging, you know the drill. Burgess, Atwater, you two. Kenny, you go with Sergeant Platt, Upton and Halstead. Erin, you ride with me."

They all turned towards the stairs. Erin made her way to Jay, stopped him. Slowly he turned around.

"Jay," She laid her hand on his forearm. Jay shook his head ever so slightly. "We have a job to do. Let's talk later." And turned back towards the stairs, placing his hand on Hailey's shoulder to signal her that they could leave.

When they all were downstairs, Voight moved towards Hailey. "Upton," he just said, glancing at her, then in Jay's direction. Hailey understood, nodded. "I will watch out for him, Sarge."

"Good."

Hailey quickly joined Jay on their way to the car. He threw the keys into her hands. "Could you drive?"

Now that was a first. "Sure."

"Jay," Hailey said, once they had left the precinct.

"Yeah."

"Jay, I'm here. Whatever it is, I'm here."

"Yeah, I know, Hailey," quietly.

"And I won't let you not talk about it. I know how difficult this is for you."

"I know that, too," he grinned weakly. "We will talk, but now let's find Adam first." He looked at her, the grin turned into a soft smile. "Thanks, partner."

"Yeah, you'll buy the beer," she waved him off.


	4. Chapter 4

Jay and Hailey started their investigations in Canaryville, talking to CI's, trying to find people who could give them information about the whereabouts of Patrick Murphy, but with little success.

Jay was well-known around here, and people were reluctant to talk to a cop, even one who grew up here.

"What about the family?" Hailey suggested. "Can't we talk to the parents?"

"I didn't want to do that. As far as I know they are decent people."

"Jay! Adam's missing!" Hailey protested. "I couldn't care less if they are decent people or crooks, as long as they can give us any hints. So let's go!"

Jay shrugged. Of course she was right. But he was a bit off, despite telling Voight and Hailey that he was fine.

He checked for the address, and within a few minutes they arrived at a small house with a well-kept, tiny front garden. Surely this didn't look like the home of two criminal boys. They knocked on the door.

"Chicago PD!" Jay shouted. "Open the door, please!"

A middle-aged woman opened the door. "Jay Halstead. What is it?"

Hailey glanced at Jay. So he knew the family.

"Ms. Murphy, could we please talk to you about Patrick?"

"Why? What has he done now?" She let the two cops inside.

Jay sat down in the living room, while Hailey slowly looked around, checking out the photos on the wall. A normal working-class family.

"Ms. Murphy, do you know where Patrick is?" Jay asked once again.

"He hasn't been around for a few weeks. Last time I talked to him, he said he had a new job, but didn't say more."

"Ms. Murphy," Hailey said, voice significantly sharper. "Your son is involved in the kidnapping of one of our officers, so do yourself a favour and tell us everything you know. If you fail to do that, it makes you an accessory, and we will take you in."

Ms. Murphy flinched. "He... he... Patrick went to see Sean in prison a few days ago, and he was pretty worried when he came back."

"So you saw him?" Hailey asked.

"No, I talked to him. I called him on the phone, like I often do. But he never has time."

"What did he say?" Jay insisted.

"Something about Sean having seen someone in prison. Someone he knew, and they were sure it was a setup. He was very vague. Saying something about dealing with it. Was that about your officer?"

"Maybe," Jay answered. "Is there anything else Patrick said? Do you know where he is?"

"No I don't think so. He only said he had to go and do his job."

"Ms. Murphy," Hailey said. "If there's anything else you remember, please contact Detective Halstead or myself. This is a serious matter. " Hailey handed her card to the older woman.

She nodded, "Yes, I will, I promise."

"The Murphys are decent people, or at least used to be," Jay explained to Hailey when they were back in the car. "But Sean and Patrick have always been trouble. Even as little kids. Their parents and their sister have always tried to bring them to their senses, but..."

"So you believe her?"

"For the moment, yes. I do."

Hailey nodded ok.

In this moment they received the order to return to the district, and were on their way immediately.

"You mentioned a sister, Jay."

"Yeah."

"Perhaps we should talk to her, too."

Jay nodded. "We can do that later," he paused. "But you should be aware that I know her. She and Will used to date back in High School."

"And?"

"Nothing, and. I just hope she doesn't play me. I used to be the annoying little brother after all."

Hailer laughed. "Not so little any more, I'd say. Not sure about the annoying part, though."

When they returned to the district, the others were already there. Trudy Platt at her desk, the unit in the office.

Erin had returned earlier, looking up connections on the FBI network, Kenny doing likewise with the police databases.

"We might have found something on the Russian scam," Kenny said. Well, Lindsay did."

"We checked all the hospitals, especially the small, private ones," she explained. "We checked for unusual birth rates and ran that against babies being given US citizenship and / or foreign visas. And one place stood out. The 'Good Samaritan Hospital', a small catholic hospital. Not in the best area of town, not big in business until recently. But they have had a significantly higher birth rate in recent months. And it seems all mothers were from Eastern Europe."

"How did you find that out?" Kevin asked. "Aren't that supposed to be very private data?"

"Yeah, technically," Erin answered.

"Well, let's check out this hospital," Voight ordered.

"Will we need a warrant?" Kevin checked.

"We won't get one that easily, so try your best and just ask and look around," Voight said.

"Copy that, sarge."

"Sarge, we should follow our lead," Hailey suggested. They explained what they had learned from Patrick Murphy's mother and proposed to find the sister for more information. Voight agreed. Four people in the hospital should be ok; Jay and Hailey should check the direct link to Ruzek. Furthermore he was still reluctant to let Jay work too closely with Erin. Despite him insisting he was ok, Voight doubted that.

When Jay grabbed his jacket, his phone rang. An unknown number. He and Hailey exchanged a glance.

"Halstead."

"OK," he sat down again, grabbed a pen and paper. "That's great. Yes, thanks, Deirdre. See you. And yes, I will tell Will you said hi."

He looked up, right into the very curious eyes of his partner and his sergeant.

"That was Deirdre, the Murphy sister," he explained. "She wants to meet with us. She might be able to help find Patrick, and perhaps Adam."

"And you are sure this is not a setup?" Voight asked.

"Pretty sure," Jay replied. "Deirdre is a good and honest person, has a steady job, no financial issues. She said her mother called her, and she wants to help."

"Well, if you are convinced, that this is a lead, follow it. But keep your radios on all the time," Voight agreed. "Upton, you back up Halstead. You don't know her, and sometimes that makes it easier not to trust someone too much."

"Copy that."

"Sarge, I'm not too trusting or careless," Jay protested. "No reason to. She used to date my brother, I don't have any history with her that could blur my judgement."

"But I'll keep my eyes open anyway," Hailey grinned.

"OK, now hit it," Voight ended the conversation.


	5. Chapter 5

Once again Hailey drove, as if for a silent agreement. It didn't take them long to arrive at the diner, where they were supposed to meet with Deirdre. Far away from Canaryville, from her home. Even though she wanted to help the police, she didn't want her family and friends to find out immediately that she snitched on her brother.

Jay and Hailey were greeted by a tall thirty-something redhead, the family resemblance was striking. But – Hailey noticed – the red hair and pale skin suited her a lot better than her brothers.

"Hi, I'm Detective Upton," she introduced herself.

"Detective. Jay," Deirdre said, waving the two of them to a corner table in the back of the diner.

"Hey Deirdre. Thanks for calling us," Jay was friendly but all business, Hailey noticed with relief. So he had said the truth, no deeper history.

"You know why we are looking for Patrick? You know that we suspect he's involved in the disappearance of one of our officers?"

"Yes, mom told me. She told you that Patrick went to see Sean just a few days ago, didn't she?"

"Yes," Hailey.

"Well, he was pretty agitated after that. He needed a place to stay for a few days, and he was at my place. But the day before yesterday he left. Something obviously has happened when he met with Sean. Patrick was almost panicking. I know he is into some shady business, but unlike Sean he hasn't been caught yet. Some scary people, it seems. I overheard Patrick talk on the phone, and he didn't sound happy."

"What did he say?" Hailey leading the questioning. "Did you hear any details?"

"Not much. Fragments like chicks, babies, and snitch, cop, trap. Patrick left right after this phone call."

"Do you know where he went?"

"Not exactly."

"What does 'not exactly' mean?" Hailey insisted. "If he abducted our friend, do you have any idea where he might have brought him?"

"Let me think."

"Deirdre, please!" pleaded Jay.

"Well, he doesn't own any place, no apartment, no house, no storage. But he has a friend who has a storage facility."

Both cops looked interested.

"Where would hat be? Who is that friend?"

"I think it's called U-Store, somewhere in South Austin. His name is Dan Cabrera."

Jay and Hailey immediately stood up. That might be a lead, if not to the Russians, but to Adam.

"Thanks, Deirdre," Jay said hastily. "I'll keep in mind what you did for us."

"No worries, Jay. I hope you'll find your friend."

On the way to the car they directly contacted Voight, got the actual address of the storage facility, and a preliminary plan. Voight promised to send the rest of the unit there asap. The lead in the hospital was promising, but that could wait until after Adam was found.

No warrant, as the lead was not too much, but as usual Intelligence rather asked for forgiveness than for permission.

Siren on and off to the storage facility.

Both Jay and Hailey were very tense now. It was their only lead to Adam, and a weak one. But if this was a dead end they would have to start all over again.

They arrived after less than 20 minutes, but it felt like an eternity. Nobody else was at the scene yet, but since Voight hadn't explicitly told them to wait, they decided to enter the premises right now. Jay saw the tension in Hailey's eyes, and quickly called Kevin, to let them know their plan. Their very basic plan. Breaking and entering, sniffing around, hopefully finding Adam.

Not a great plan, but what else were they supposed to do. So they parked the car in a side street and walked around the storage. A big concrete building, not very inviting. High fence. No windows on the ground floor.

"There must be some kind of back entrance," Jay murmured. "We can't just break in to the front door."

"Why exactly?"

"Didn't you see the cameras?"

"So what?" Hailey shrugged. "There will be cameras inside, but the place looks pretty deserted. And what else would you do? Climb the wall up to these tiny windows in the... fourth... floor?"

Jay looked at her, contemplated what she had said. Then shrugged. "OK, let's go."

So they walked back to the front of the building, and as if it was the most normal thing to do, Jay broke the chain lock, smashed into the door shoulder first.

"So we don't sneak in quietly after all," Hailey commented. "Let's make some noise, perhaps they react and we find them faster."

"Whatever you say."

They made some deliberate noise, and soon enough their strategy paid off, when they heard rumbling from upstairs, yelling, footsteps.

Instinctively they split up, one took the right aisle, the other the left. Up the first staircase, quick eye contact, up the second. The noise had come from here. Again short eye contact was enough for them to know what the other was up to. They approached the door, behind which they suspected the origin of the noise, when suddenly the door swung open, a man with a gun storming out, shooting immediately in Jay's direction.

Jay ducked into the next doorway, while Hailey fired her gun at the man. Trying to avoid being shot by Hailey, the shooter forgot Jay for a split second. Enough for Jay, who took advantage of that and shot the gun out of his hand, then fired a second shot at his legs. He fell. Jay was over him in no time, cuffed him, then followed Hailey into the storage locker, from where muffled sounds could be heard."

"Adam!" Hailey exclaimed.

And Jay saw what Hailey saw. Adam, hands and feet bound, gagged, badly bruised. Hailey kneeled down, removed the gag, stroked his face.

"Adam, we're here. It's over," she whispered.

She wasn't sure if he was conscious enough to understand, so she continued whispering soothing words, while Jay removed the bonds and then called the others.

That, however, was not necessary any more, as the rest of the unit came storming up the stairs. Kim almost flew across the room to Adam, kneeled down next to Hailey, tears of relief running down her face. "It's ok, Adam. You're safe now."

The two women didn't feel any rivalry, they were both just so relieved that Adam was alive and relatively well.

Kenny called an ambulance, while Kevin called Adam's dad to let him know that his son was found.

The paramedics arrived at the scene within minutes. The unit was glad it was Brett and Foster, part of the "family".

They put Adam on a stretcher, ignoring his meek protests that he was ok to walk – which he clearly wasn't.

Meanwhile Jay had filled everyone in on what had happened. Kenny rudely pulled the shooter up and dragged him to the elevator. Yes, they would bring him to Med, but he surely couldn't expect any special treatment from Intelligence.

Kim followed the paramedics and ride with them to Med. She didn't want to leave Adam alone. Hailey had given her ok when Kim had asked her.

Kevin had followed Kenny to the car, to bring the injured shooter to Med.

So that left Jay and Hailey.

Only now Hailey noticed that her knees were shaking. Jay pulled her into a comforting hug.

"It's ok, Hailey. We found him. Adam's safe now."

"Thanks to you, Jay."

"No, thanks to all of us."

Both felt the tension slowly disappear, and they waited a while, still hugging, before they finally made their way back to the 21st.

Back at the district, the whole unit, save Adam and Kim, gathered.  
"So, Adam's back," Voight said. "That's the most important achievement today. According to Burgess, he will be able to leave Med tomorrow morning. He's been pretty beaten up, will be checked for a concussion, but that's it. Good job, guys."

"What about the hospital, the Russians?" Kenny asked.

"We will follow up on that tomorrow," Voight said.

"But Hank, the women, the babies..." Erin protested.

"Tomorrow," Voight repeated firmly. "Today we saved one of our own, that's all that counts for the moment. Tomorrow, when we all have calmed down, when we are all well rested, we will continue working on the case."

"Molly's?" Kevin sugested.

All shook their heads. "No, not tonight."

Jay looked at Hailey. "Six-pack of beer, pizza, your place?"

"Oh yes," Hailey smiled. "Just what I need."


	6. Chapter 6

Jay and Hailey spent the longer part of the evening with a pizza and said six-pack of beer on Hailey's couch, and they talked. About the case, about Adam, and the tiniest bit about Erin. Jay still didn't seem quit ready.

All Hailey would get was that Jay was ok, that he didn't have any problems with Erin being there, that he didn't care... or that he didn't want to care.

They drank and ate in a peaceful, companionable mood, sitting closely side by side. For a moment both fell asleep with their heads leaning against each other's.

Eventually Jay crashed on Hailey's couch, as he was too tired and had too many beers to drive home. So in the morning they left Hailey's place early and made a detour to Jay's place, so he could change into some fresh clothes. Best way to avoid whispering and rumours in the district.

Nevertheless, Hailey was a bit worried. Worried that she'd lose what she had with Jay, now that Erin was back in the picture. The trust, the friendship, the deep understanding, the connection they had.

All gathered in the district early the next morning. And just when Voight wanted to start roll call, Adam walked up the stairs, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

"Yeah," Voight said casually. "I wanted to let you know Ruzek is back with Intelligence starting today. Well... if you feel up to it, Adam."

"Yes, boss, absolutely," Adam hurried to say, grinning like a kid in a candy store.

"Ruzek," Voight looked at Adam. "Please let us know in detail what happened to you and all you know about the case."

Adam approached the whiteboard, pointed at the photo of Nachalnik. "As you all know by now, Nachalnik and I were in the same cell block in Stateville. And, I can't change it, when I heard certain things, I tried to find out what was going on. So I tried to befriend him and his goons. Turns out they were still involved in some kind of human trafficking, Nachalnik was caught bringing Eastern European women, pregnant women, to the US illegally. But with his arrest, this wasn't stopped, as he was not the head of the operation. This guy, Ivan the Terrible, is. They changed their methods a bit, hiding behind a travel agency with a branch in Chicago. So the women enter the US officially as tourists, but are brought to these hospitals, like the one in Chicago.

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" Kevin wanted to know.

"Kev, you know that nobody believes a fallen cop," Adam replied.

"But you could have called," Kevin insisted.

"And someone would have overheard and that would have been the end of it," Adam shrugged. "I was trying to figure out how to let you all in on this. But then two things happened at the same time. First I was informed that I would be set free, and literally a few seconds after that Sean Murphy saw me. And connected the dots. So I knew I needed to wait until I was out. But then, when I was home, Patrick Murphy came by. I didn't know that his brother had already talked to him, so I was too careless. Next thing I remember is waking up to see that lovely storage locker."

"So, where are we now?" Voight summarized what they knew so far. The hospital was in fact suspicious, but they hadn't had the time to follow up yesterday. It seems there was a "private" area that they hadn't been allowed to enter. Not unusual for a high profile private hospital. But the "Good Samaritan" was anything but. It wasn't posh at all, didn't seem to attract wealthy patients.

"And we made some financial connections to Russian bank accounts," Erin mentioned. "All deeply hidden, too deep to be harmless."

"So, let's go and check it out in detail." Voight ordered.

"Jay, you ride with me," Erin said, but was interrupted by Voight.

"Jay, you and Upton. Erin, you go with Burgess. Ruzek, if you're ok you ride with Atwater, and Rixton with me."

Adam nodded anxiously.

Hailey exhaled, noticing only now that she had held her breath for a minute.

"And don't forget, everyone goes home tonight."

"Copy that, sarge," all replied.

Today Jay didn't ask Hailey to drive, she noticed relieved. Not that she minded to drive, but it was a good sign for Jay. Her mood had significantly improved when she had noticed that Jay was glad not to drive with Erin. Of course they would eventually have a talk, but right now there was no time to focus on relationships, there was a case to close.

Arriving at the hospital, Intelligence spread. Even without a warrant they showed enough authority, so that at first nobody stopped them.

So far nothing suspicious. But then they arrived at a double door that was locked, entrance forbidden. The private sector.

While Adam and Kevin stood there, waiting for backup, a nurse came out of the private sector through the door. Automatically Adam stopped the door from closing, put his foot in the door. The nurse wanted to protest, but Kevin shook his head, shushing her. With an irritated look the nurse hurried away.

Kevin radioed the others, they decided it was safer to wait instead of going in alone and have a locked door between themselves and the others.

Within seconds the unit plus Erin was complete, and they entered the private sector.

It looked like a totally normal maternity ward, but once you looked closer, you could see that the rooms didn't have proper walls but large glass windows to the hallway, so there was no privacy at all inside, and the doors had locks and were closed.

All rooms they could see were occupied by young women, but no babies. At first the hallways was deserted, but they had obviously triggered a silent alarm. Suddenly out of nowhere a doctor and three security guards appeared.  
"What are you doing here?" the doctor demanded to know.

"Following up on some intel," Voight said. Noticing that the guards had their hands on their guns. "I would advise against that," he just said, nodding towards the guns. Immediately the unit had their guns drawn.

Kevin, Kenny and Adam stood right behind their sergeant, guns pointed at the security guards, while Jay, Hailey, Erin and Kim walked further along the hallways to secure the area.

Strangely enough all of the hallways seemed to be deserted, no nurses, no further doctors, no security. It seemed the women were mostly left to themselves.

But as soon as the patients noticed that it was the police outside, some started yelling for help, while others ducked into their beds.

The four smashed open the doors one by one, trying to comfort the women. Erin made her way back to Voight, while the other three continued to open as many doors as possible. Some of the women were heavily pregnant, some had obviously delivered only a short while ago. These were crying hard, asking for their babies.

Meanwhile the doctor and the security guards were cuffed, Voight organized transportation to the district. They also called the ambulances for the women to have them brought to Chicago Med. In total they found almost 20 women. And backup was brought in to secure the whole building and arrest everyone in this private area. Erin contacted the Feds, to include them in the further investigation. It all happened very fast.

Back at 21st, the guards were put in holding cells, and the doctor was brought to the cage, to be interviewed by Voight and Erin.

Jay and Hailey accompanied the women to Med, trying to get some more information. But that turned out difficult, as most of them hardly spoke any English. They tried to comfort the women as much as possible, and as soon as uniforms arrived to secure the area and the women, they returned to the district, drained.

But no rest – Trudy called them to her desk. "Halstead, Upton, you have a visitor." She motioned to the room opposite her desk.

Inside they found Deirdre Murphy and her brother Patrick.

At their puzzled look, Deirdre explained. "I could convince my brother to turn himself in. I figured this would be the only way for him to at least have a chance to see the sunlight ever again."

"Thanks, Deirdre," Jay said, surprised. "We will take it from here."

Hailey accompanied Deirdre back outside, and Jay brought a reluctant but calm Patrick Murphy upstairs to the interrogation room.

When they had informed Voight, they sat down with Patrick.

Just like his brother, Patrick was not a big player. Adam's abduction had not been his idea, but he had been too weak to resist. His friend, the one who had guarded Adam in the storage facility, had planned everything, and Patrick had to trick Adam to go with him. Patrick usually just ran errands for the big guys like the Russians. So, facing a major sentence, Patrick was easily convinced to spill everything he knew. Not that he knew much. But he gave them a location where more women were held captive and were forced to work for their "debts", mainly as prostitutes or dealing and smuggling drugs. He didn't know where the babies were held, and who took care of them.

But here the doctor could help. Voight and Erin had their ways to convince him to give up the location of the babies, and to tell them all he knew about the people behind this, including Ivan Grodny. They would have their reliable witness, so that Ivan the Terrible wouldn't do any more harm in the future.

Erin made a few further phone calls to her colleagues at the FBI. They would raid all these locations, free the babies and their mothers, arrest Ivan the Terrible. The mothers and babies, so Erin said, might even have a chance to stay in the US, based on what had happened to them.


	7. Chapter 7

And before Intelligence even realized what had happened, their job was done. With the Feds leading the rest of the work, they could lean back and go home. Of course the Feds would take all the glory, but that was ok with the unit. They didn't know and didn't want it any other way. They were not cops to have their picture in the papers.

So they all sat in their chairs in the office a bit perplexed, still trying to understand what had happened in the last 48 hours, when Voight came in. "Guys, go home. You did a great job today, all of you. I'll see you tonight at Molly's."

All stood up, unsure if they were ready to leave just yet. They reluctantly said good-bye to Erin, who was to rejoin the Feds to finish the investigation.

Jay and Hailey were the last, still going through some paperwork. Voight was back in his office, when Erin called for Jay and waved him to follow her into the break room. A lot of their "stuff" had happened in there. Reluctantly Jay followed her, watched by a clearly uncomfortable Hailey.

"Jay," Erin started. "It's so good to see you again."

He shrugged, didn't react when she put her hand on his forearm, looked into his eyes.

"Jay, say something," she pleaded. "I had to leave, Jay, you know that. I can explain. But... Jay, just say the word and I will come back to Chicago, to you."

Jay looked down. There was a lot Jay wanted to say in this moment. _I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you, Erin, _he wanted to say._ I wanted to propose, and you just vanished, without a word, without an explanation. And you weren't here. You weren't here when I shot that little girl, when the Camilla-fiasco happened. When Al died. And you were not here when my father died._

But he didn't say one word. Because he knew who had been there with him and for him this whole time, and that was what really mattered, who really mattered.

He finally looked back at Erin, shrugged off her hand, and firmly said, "Go, Erin. Go back to New York."

With that he turned around and left the room.

A very nervous Hailey looked at him. Jay approached her, smiled softly. "Let's go." And when Hailey stood up, he put his arm around her shoulders. And as if it were the most normal thing in the world, Hailey slid her hand around his waist when they walked down the stairs together.

Voight came out of the office just in time to see this, and to see a shocked Erin. He lifted his eyebrows, grinned, and shrugged in Erin's direction.

That evening at Molly's the team stood around their table, recapping the case, listening to Adam's stories, filling Adam up on what had happened, talking about Antonio.

Jay's arm once again around Hailey's shoulders, her arm firmly around his waist. Natural, comfortable. And nobody seemed to be the slightest bit surprised to see their new closeness.

When the conversation got more and more sentimental, the two of them decided to leave.

Barely outside, Hailey stopped Jay. She leaned against the wall, put her hands around his neck, pulled his face down to hers, and kissed him tentatively. Finally, for the first time. Jay, with no sign of surprise, wrapped his arms around her firmly, leaned into her embrace, smiled and kissed her back.

They seemed to have forgotten the time, and after a while they faintly heard Kenny shout "Hey you two, get a room."

Both laughed softly, because that was exactly what they had in mind.


End file.
